Selects: How Area 51 Works | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Hello everybody, Chuck here. Take me to. your leader. Other things ETSs might. say. Happy Saturday. This episode is called. How Area 51 Works. It's from June 13th, 2019. And uh you know, we get into it. We chop it up, as they say. All about. Area 51. I hope you enjoy. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio.

Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh Clark and there's Charles W. Chuck. Bryan over there. And there's Dylan, the. guest producer again. And this is Stuff. You Should Know, >> the podcast. >> Mhm. About Chuck. Some pretty heavy. stuff. >> Yeah. I could have sworn we did this. one. >> No. >> What did we do? Roswell? >> No.

>> UFOs. >> Yes. >> We did that at a Comic Con or something, right? >> Yeah, we did. We did it live. I've never. been satisfied with that one. >> I I agree. >> Maybe we'll redo it one day. >> Nah, this is good. this this Area 51. Um. I think this kind of covers some ground. that I didn't think I was surprised by. this is what I'm saying. >> Yeah, me too. And I think the thing that. I would wager you were surprised about, which I was definitely surprised about, was just how mundane the explanations.

for what goes on at Area 51 probably is. >> Yeah. Secret government research. The. end, >> right? But it it probably doesn't have. anything to do with reverse engineering. alien technology and the secret seat of. the one world government, the Majestic. 12, probably isn't located there. >> No, probably just bombs and planes. >> Probably. It makes sense. And the if. there is a conspiracy going on, the one. conspiracy theory I saw for Area 51 that. made the most sense to me is that it's.

actually meant to be a distraction or. has developed into a distraction for. some other place that no one even knows. about. >> Area 50, >> maybe. >> Yeah, >> maybe. Hopefully they're not quite that. on the nose, but it's possible. >> All right, so let's go back in time, I. guess, um, to World War II. Mhm. >> And well, first of all, Area 51, just to. geographically level set, it's um less. than 100 miles from Las Vegas in Nevada.

>> South South Nevada. >> Yeah. It's 600 square miles. Um and it's. basically, if you look at it on Google. Earth, it looks like a, you know, a big. airfield with a bunch of buildings. So. the I think the whole restricted. airspace that's part of like the test. range and the air base and all of that. stuff. Yeah. That air the Area 51 is. located in. I think that's 600 square. miles. I'm pretty sure Area 51 itself is. no more than 60 square miles.

>> Oh yeah, sure. Just that like the It's. not like there's 600 square miles of. buildings, >> right? It's just Yeah. the the. installation that people think of as. Area 51 is is part of a larger huge big. chunk of the American desert in Nevada, >> right? So, uh, next to Area 51 is what's. what you were kind of talking about, the. Nevada Test Site, >> and this is where for about 10 or 11. years, the Atomic Energy Commission um. was setting off nuclear bombs.

>> um underground, above ground. Mhm. >> And uh really sort of figuring out how. to kill a lot of people very easily. >> in sort of the most dangerous way you. could imagine. >> Yeah. And you could see this from Vegas. like they would have parties when they. were doing the test because Vegas is. like 80 miles away or something like. that and they would have like atomic. cocktails and viewing parties and stuff. like that and people would watch them. shoot off bombs. >> Unbelievable,

>> right? Um, but this is obviously a part. of the country that the government would. be very interested in keeping people. away from, not just for the bombs, but. because of the um the fallout, the. radiation, but also the fact that. they're testing like super sensitive. military equipment and um weapons, right? Like atomic bombs. >> Yeah. Like previous to this, it was just. land. It was uh there were silver mines, there was cattle and wildlife. But then. in 1940, uh, the government said, "No,

this is ours and we're going to train, uh, bombers here, >> right?". >> Uh, and there was a big bombing range. and they were split into different. numbers and that's where the the number. Area 51 comes from, which seems I don't. know about arbitrary, but no one knows. if it really matters why it was named. Area 51. No, I think it was if you look. at old bombing range maps, it just the. the area where Area 51 is located was. denoted as Area 51. >> between 50 and 52 is probably the. answer. >> Yeah, that's basically from what I saw.

that was it. >> Yeah. So, uh there's another part to. this story with World War II and this is. Germany. Um they were a bit ahead of us. as far as jets go. Um jet airplanes. >> Yeah. >> Um the United States was like, "This. won't do it all." So, we're going to get. um kind of put the gas on our jet. development. And in 1943, Lockheed. um said was was tasked with developing a. jet fighter plane. You can use a British. jet engine. Uh and they tasked engineer.

Kelly Johnson said, "Get a team. together." He got a team together and. they delivered the P80 Shooting Star, which is one of the coolest looking uh. old jets. All the all these planes are. just amazing looking. >> Agreed. Very, very cool. >> It's a good idea when we talk about a. new jet or something, go look it up as. we're talking about because most of them. are pretty boss looking. >> Yeah. I've never been a plane guy, but. I'm getting more and more into it. >> Is that right? >> Yeah. >> I want to do a stealth bomber episode. one day. Okay. >> Possibly the coolest plane. >> Yeah. So, um, Kelly Johnson was a that.

that just that right there delivering. America's first jet on like under time. and under budget was huge. and he became. a legendary engineer right off the bat. Um, and they I think Lockheed said, "Hey, how would you like to keep this. pace up? We'll give you your team of. elite engineers, whatever funding you. need, whatever resources you need, just. ask. You can have it. Um, and you just. keep developing stuff really quickly for.

us. Um, and we will put you at the. cutting edge of aviation research." And. so Kelly Johnson and his team eventually. became known as the the Skunk Works, which is legendary in aviation. engineering because they developed. a a whole bunch of really cool stuff, but also they had a pretty great name, too. That was fairly intriguing. But. they were the first ones to kind of. basically develop agile project. management from what I understand. >> Yeah. And this was all out of the what. was known as site one, which was in.

Burbank, California. Um just sort of a. suburb of LA. Uh but then in 1954. they said, "You know what we need now is. a spy plane. Uh the CIA wants a spy. plane. We want something that can fly. above radar um and photograph Soviet. military bases, uh missile. installations. We're going to name it. because we name everything. Uh project. Aquatone." And that's where Johnson and. his team developed the U2.

um the skunk works team, >> right? But they couldn't do this at site. one anymore because it had to be super. super secret obviously because it was a. spy plane. So they needed a different. place and that's where that sort of all. converges onto this uh testing site in. Nevada. >> Yeah. Kelly Johnson, a CIA officer named. Richard Bissell and a couple of pilots. started scouting locations for where. they could develop this in super super. secret. and they they went to look at.

the old um Nevada test range. And. specifically, the thing that attracted. them was a dry salt lake called Groom. Lake. And one of the pilots recounted. taking some like 16lb shot put balls and. dropping them on the ground to see just. how sandy the ground was. And it he said. it was solid as a tabletop. This lake. was the dry lake. >> Yeah. >> They're like, "This will probably do.". And there's a lot of reasons why it. would do. Not just because there was a. dry lake bed that was as hard as.

concrete, but because it was in an area. that was already off limits to the. public. Um the airspace was already. restricted. It was remote. Um there were. two mountain ranges that shield the um. the test site from view. So this area, what became known as Area 51, was just. perfect for developing a super secret. spy plane in super secret. And so the. CIA and um the skunk works team said,

"This will do. Let's take this place. over.". >> Did I ever tell you about one of the. most fun things I ever got to do as a. PA? >> What? >> Wait, didn't weren't you arrested by. Eric Estrada? Is that what you're going. to say? >> Oh, no. That's Stop 10. >> Okay. >> Um we did a a a car shoot on a dry lake. bed. >> Oh yeah. >> In Death Valley. >> Nice. >> And they had like a big huge line of. cars in a row all driving in perfect. synchronicity. >> Mhm. And the director wasn't happy and. they were like, "We want uh all the dust. is behind them." He went, "I want dust. in front of them." So the AD ran and.

grabbed the keys to a Mustang, threw. them to me and he said, "Get in that. Mustang and drive 100 ft in front of. them as fast as you can, fishtailing and. doing donuts and stuff.". >> Awesome. >> I was like, "Me?". >> Yeah. >> Oh man, it was so much fun. Cuz this is. a dry lake bed. Like there's just no. fear of hitting anything or flipping. Like you could just do whatever you. wanted. It was wonderful. >> That's cool. >> It was so much fun. >> Did you didn't hit a jack rabbit or.

anything, did you? >> Uh just a couple. >> No, it was fine. It was It was a lot of. fun. So, what was the last thing you. said? >> Last thing. Yeah, the last thing I Well, I was talking about how amazingly. perfect Area 51 is for developing a. super secret spy plane. >> Yeah. So they called it Paradise Ranch. and the locals around there they were. used to because of all the atomic bomb. testing it kind of worked out because. they weren't going to first of all it. was in the middle of nowhere but even. the nearby communities the ones that. were close enough. >> it just wasn't on anyone's radar because.

they had always been doing weird things. out there. So it's not like it it it. pricked up anyone's ears. So it was kind. of the perfect cover to be there at. Paradise Ranch doing these uh. development of these spy planes and. stuff. Right. Right. They So, but in. addition to that, the cover story. initially that the CIA produced was that. they were a team of um bomb experts. Yeah. Who were cleaning up unexloded. munitions from the time when it was used. as a bombing range. So, that was why.

that was the story they used for why. there was a sudden appearance of like. trucks and people when there there. hadn't been really much of anything. there before. >> Yeah. There there were also uh natural. barriers. There were a couple of. mountain ranges that kind of shielded it. from view. >> Um, it was already remote. The airspace. was already restricted. And then. Eisenhower came along and signed. executive order uh 10633 in 1955. which basically extended the airspace. over Area 51. And then in 1958, a public.

land uh order made this basically said. this area doesn't exist anymore. >> Right? >> It's not on maps. it's not acknowledged. And this is one of the huge reasons why. site 2, the ranch, Area 51, has been so. um and and we'll see later things have. changed a little bit in recent years, but just for the government to say like. I don't know what you're talking about. over and over again. It's sort of.

crazym. >> It is. But like they would, as we'll see. later, they will they would say in open. court this the the place where this. person claims to work does not exist. like in court. >> And um the the judge would just be like. what are you how what how are we going. to get around this? This is a real. problem. Um but that from what I read, Chuck, originally Area 51 was a CIA. installation. >> Yeah. And around 1970, it transferred.

hands to the Air Force. But from from. what I could tell, up until that point, or at least the first several years in. the mid to late 50s and early 60s, um no. one had any idea that Area 51 existed. They did a really good job of keeping. that place a genuine secret, not an open. secret like it became later on, but a. real secret. And one of the ways that. they did that was they they from from. what workers later said in like. testimony in court cases is that like.

they would be interrogated at gunpoint. to see if they were actually spies. There were all sorts of like weird. loyalty tests and things like that. And. um while they were working on the U2 spy. plane uh in particular, they kept that. secret so serious that if you were out. there working um and you had nothing to. do with the U2 program, you were just a. worker, you were working on a different. program, they would move you indoors, close the doors, close the blinds on the. windows before rolling the U2 out or.

testing it. Like you were not allowed to. be outside or look. >> Yeah, that that was pretty like. remarkable. I like within Area 51, they. even had subsecurity. >> protocols in place. Um, I kind of just. figured like if you were in there, then. you had access to the alien room, the. right, >> you know, all the good stuff, >> right? But, but think about that because. to even be on the base or in Area 51, you had to have the highest level of.

security clearance you could possibly. have just to work on there. And even if. you had that, you still couldn't see the. U2 spy plane or know that it existed or. hear people talk about it. >> They wouldn't even let Bono in on it. >> Nope. >> So, that was a terrible joke. >> It was really bad. I was really hoping. we'd get around that one. >> So, the U2 spy plane uh was great uh. until it wasn't. And that was when uh. Francis Gary Powers was shot down in. 1960 and the plane uh was all of a.

sudden in the so the hand of the. Soviets. Yeah. >> And uh they basically were like, "Well, that's the end of that." Uh you can't. have a secret spy plane anymore once. it's in the hand of the Soviets. Um and. it was also a big deal because uh the. American people all of a sudden knew. that the the US government is definitely. doing things in total secret and. developing technology that no one knows. about. >> It was a surprise to everybody, not just. the Soviets, but also the the American. public, like you were saying, too. And I.

looked to see if this was looked upon by. historians as like the point where. Americans realized that the government. did things in secret that the American. public didn't know about. And I didn't. see anything like that. So I don't know. if this is an ed comment or what, but it. makes sense. And certainly people didn't. know that the YouTube spy plane existed. The CIA did a really good job of keeping. it secret. But when it was out um it was. pretty humiliating for the US and it was. also a big deal that this spy plane was. shot down because Eisenhower had.

approached Cruchev Cruchev and said hey. why don't we maintain an open airspace. policy to one another so we can keep. tabs to make sure that either side is. keeping our word with our you know. armament treaties and the stuff we're. doing like we're enemies but um maybe we. should kind of be able to keep tabs on. one another and cruise Chev said, "No, there's not going to be any open. airspace policy." And so the the United. States went and developed this U2 spy. plane instead. And when it got shot. down, flying over restricted airspace of.

an enemy. That's an act of war. And it. could have gone way differently than it. did. But instead, it was a big. humiliation for the United States. And. instead of just kind of tucking tail and. running, the guy who was in charge of it. for the CIA, Richard Bissell, went to. the government and said, "Hey, I've got. an idea. let's get even more secret and. develop an even more secretive plane. under an even more secretive project. And that the government said, "Hey, let's do it. We're scared of the.

Russians. We'll double down. We'll. triple down if you want, buddy." And. that became project ox cart. >> That's right. Uh and that was a a black. project. >> And it was so secret and so concealed. that no one was even allowed to know how. much money was being spent. >> Yeah. This is a big a big turning point. here. >> It was I mean this kind of started the. era that we still live in today which uh. in which the military just dumps money. into secret projects uh where there's um.

that that don't exist as far as anyone. knows and that there's very little. oversight for. >> right. Exactly. >> Really interesting. >> Yeah. And apparently it was this Richard. Bissell's idea. >> All right. Well, let's take a break. Old. Dick Bissell. and we'll we'll get back to Dick Bissell. and the rest of Oxcart right after this. [Music]. Learning things. you should know. [Music].

So, one of the problems with I guess. it's not a problem if you're you're. comfortable with dumping money into a. project, but one of the I guess expenses. of a super super secret project is that. it just costs a lot more. Um, background. checks take time and costs money. Uh, putting something in a super remote.

location cost money. Um, having extra. security forces and it all just cost a. lot more money. I mean, it's a it's a. serious multiplier on cost to do. something that quote unquote doesn't. exist, >> right? But in addition to that, Chuck, too, is just the fact that uh the the. technology that was being developed was. so cutting edge, it just by definition. required even more money on top of the. extra money for it being so super. secret. >> Yeah. So, Oxcart eventually led to the.

SR71 Blackbird. >> Another amazingly cool plane. >> Probably the coolest of all time if you. ask me. >> Yeah. I said the stealth bomber earlier, but the SR71 is that it was pretty. awesome. Although, there is another one. later on that I'll I'll mention. Uh the. Well, I'll go ahead and say the Bird of. Prey Stealth Jet. >> You like that one, huh? >> It's pretty cool. >> It looks a little bit like a super cool. tongue depressor. >> You know what I'm talking about? >> I know what a tongue depressor is. >> This looks like that. Like a flying gray.

tongue depressor. >> It's like a popsicle stick though, right? Um, yeah, but wider. >> Okay. >> But the SR71 Blackbird definitely not a. popsicle stick. >> No, no, it's just cool. Plus, it doesn't. hurt the fact that G.I. Joe, well, Cobra. technically had the SR71 Blackbird as. one of their planes. >> That's funny. >> Yeah. >> Uh, so Oxgart, um, they needed better. infrastructure basically, and it was. they couldn't just pour money into the.

development of the jet at this point. They had to really update all the. facilities, expanding on land, expanding more. restricted airspace even that happened. in 1962. >> Mhm. >> And it it just sort of I think ingrained. the super permanence of Area 51. >> And also like the fact that like the. government said, "No, okay, this was a. humiliating thing to have our U2 shot. down rather than maybe we'll just kind. of take another TAC." They really went. further down the path of just completely.

secret black projects and they developed. some pretty pretty amazing stuff there. Um the uh I think you were saying the. Bird of Prey that was from the '9s, right? >> Yeah, I think it's cool looking. >> The F-17 Nighthawk, that's the one. that's like a single wing stealth. bomber, I believe. >> Yes. And this is also where they uh take. and um like if you capture an enemy. plane, you will take that to Area 51 to. to check out as well.

>> Yeah, there's another program at Wright. Patterson base in Dayton that's like set. up specifically for that, but I wonder. if this is like even more highly. sensitive. I don't know. >> I don't know. Um but yeah, they've. captured MIGs before, captured radar. systems, and they reverse engineered. them there, which will come into play. later on. Um, and then there was another. one called the uh Tacet Blue stealth. bomber. So basically any stealth uh. aircraft, whether it was the stealth.

Blackhawks or the stealth bombers that. were developed from the 60s onward. Um, it was probably developed and tested in. super secrecy in Area 51. >> Right. So like I said, this made it just. sort of a a shop that they would that. wouldn't close essentially at this. point. Mhm. >> Um, in 1993 there there's an area known. as Freedom Ridge. Uh, very ironic name. because Freedom Ridge was uh taken by. the government,

>> right, >> and closed off to the public. And this. is where uh tinfoil hats uh used to. gather with their binoculars to try and. check out things. >> and they said no more. Uh, Freedom Ridge. is now ours. >> It's called Get Out of Here Ridge. >> Yeah. >> Shot on Sight Ridge. >> That's right. So, um, if you are like, get to the aliens, what are you guys. even talking about? The aliens in Area. 51, as synonymous as they are now, and. they are synonymous. The highway that. Area 51 is off of, that the road to Area.

51 is off of, has been officially. renamed by the state of Nevada as the. extraterrestrial highway, it's Highway. 305. >> Yeah. As synonymous as this base is with. aliens and UFOs, that's actually. relatively recent. It was operating for. a good. 25, 35 years, I think, um, before aliens. became tied to Area 51. And there's. actually a moment in time that you can.

point to where it happened. And it. happened on a broadcast in May of 1989, almost just past 30 years ago on KAS, the local Las Vegas um TV network. I'm. not sure what network affiliate they. are, but they had like their five:00. news and on it they interviewed a guy. who was anonymous, went by the pseudonym. Dennis, and he basically said, "Hey, I'm. doing a lot of weird stuff out there at. Area 51. Let me tell you all about it.". >> Yeah. His name, his real name was Bob.

Lazar. And he uh Have you seen interviews with. this guy? >> Yeah. >> Did you see the the more recent one? >> No. The But the one where he said, "I. think it was a good idea." That one. >> No. I'm talking about there was one just. from a few years ago. >> No. >> Um. it it's I got to say, I mean, >> I'm not a conspiracy guy at all, right? Right. But when you listen to Bob Lazard. talk today, he just doesn't seem like.

some crackpot or a weirdo or like he. would be lying. He hasn't like made. money off of this or like. >> he he's he's basically like, "Listen, man. I I kind of wish this wasn't. attached to my name because I'm trying. to run a business in Michigan and it. doesn't help that people think I'm some. UFO cook.". >> Bob Lazar is alien apples. >> and he's. Oh, good. and he said, "Uh, but he was. like, uh, you know, everything that I.

told you was true, though, and that's. just the deal. Uh, you know, I don't. care if anyone believes me.". >> He's kind of like that, though, too, in. the early interviews. Um, at the very. least, he's very calm and not at all. kooky or anything like that. It's. specifically the stuff he was talking. about that was Yeah. >> was so compelling. >> Yeah. So his story is um and you can go. watch this stuff for yourself and see it. all, but he basically explains how. >> he's an engineer and he uh was working. on reverse engineering um uh flying.

saucers essentially alien spacecraft. >> and alien technology. And at one point. he was in a room and they left him alone. with all these files that describe alien. technology and alien autopsies. and all. of this stuff. And uh it's pretty. remarkable to listen to. It didn't make. the hugest waves cuz it was 1989. It was. a local news station. >> At first it didn't. >> Yeah. And then it was picked up by.

Japan, oddly enough. >> Mhm. >> And after it went to Japan, it went kind. of worldwide and before you know it, um. the whole area just sort of became alien. central. And this is we should point out. this also has a lot to do with the fact. that in the 70s and 80s the United. States kind of went UFO nuts. >> Oh yeah, man. There were so many great. books at the time that were coming out. that claimed everything from like UFOs. were responsible for the Bermuda. Triangle or Atlantis was populated by.

UFOs or the Nazca lines were for UFOs or. the Egyptians built the pyramids with. UFOs. All that stuff came out of the 70s. and 80s. Yeah. So, this all kind of. coincided with Lazar um having his news. interview and it and it really just kind. of changed everything. >> It did. Right. So, he kind of like came. out at a time when America was primed to. really believe it. But, but if you think. about it, like everything you hear about. and think about from about Area 51 today. did not exist pre-1989, preob Lazar. It.

all started with Bob Lazar. And the. reason why everybody wasn't just like, "So, he's just some nut who came out and. said this stuff. who cares? How did that. how did that become truly cemented with. Area 51? Is that weirdly some of the. stuff he talked about kind of held water. like he would talk about just mundane. day-to-day stuff that went on at Area 51. um that seemed to uh be able to be.

correlated from locals. Yeah. >> Like it it held up. Um there was a um. there was a scanner once he said that. you would get in and out of rooms by. scanning your hands and it would scan. the bone structure of your hand. That. was how you were identified and could. come in and out of rooms and supposedly. somebody found year like 30 years later. mention of something like that in some. declassified report about Area 51. Um he. also and this is what really kind of.

legitimized him. He would take people. out on on Wednesday nights and at the. time he would say I never saw what time. it was but at the time he said it would. happen lights would rise up in the sky. and they would do all sorts of UFOy kind. of stuff. >> and the fact that he knew about these. schedules really kind of added. legitimacy to his claims. >> Yeah. And the new interview that I saw, he was uh explaining some of the uh. anti-gravitational. uh propulsion technology that the aliens. had supposedly used. He was supposedly.

assigned to reverse engineer, >> right? >> And he was sort of walking uh walking. the person through it that was in the. room and he was like, "Oh yeah." And he. said, "We had this thing. It was sort of. like half a basketball." And when you. went to put your hand on it, he was. like, "There was this he was it was like. bringing two magnets, you know, opposite. poles to is it opposite poles that. repel?". >> Mhm. >> And he said that's kind of what it felt. like. And he said, "So we would drop. like a golf ball and it would just, you. know, skirt off to the side without. hitting it and like as if it had.

bounced." And he the way he was. describing it, I was just like, "This. guy just seems so credible, >> right? >> It was so like shocking. I didn't know. what to expect. I thought he was I. thought he was not going to be credible, I guess. >> Right. Um I didn't see the the interview. with him, but um I read about that. technology and um and by the way, everybody, you can erase your email. It's like poles that repel each other, Chuck. Not obviously, >> right? >> Um the uh the the anti-gravity.

technology was talking about was. basically saying like around the craft. or whatever that they were reverse. engineering, it would bend gravity. So. this could just move right through space. basically at light speed. Yeah, that's. the big suspicion among ufologists who. follow this stuff is that they were. reverse engineering lighteed aircraft. that was propelled using anti-gravity. technology on engines that were matter. anti-atter engines. And and back in. 1989, you couldn't there wasn't an.

internet to start with, but even if. there was, you couldn't find stuff like. descriptions of anti-gravity craft at. the time. So for this guy to just come. out and start talking about this in an. authoritative way. >> Yeah. >> He he's an enigmatic figure for sure. But he was also one whose credibility. was questioned right out of the gate. too, right? >> Yeah. I mean he says that he went to MIT. and to Caltech. Uh there are no records. of him being a student. Um the. conspiracy theorists will say like you. know how easy it is for the government.

to wipe that clean, >> right? >> Um. >> do you? >> Yeah. I'm like I I don't know is that. easy. >> Uh so that's what they will say. Um they. uh will also say that they also like got. in touch with his professors to make. sure they never talked and stuff like. that. But. >> yeah, >> that's when I get a little bit like. >> you can't you can't have hundreds of. people or thousands of people involved. in some big massive cover up, right?

>> Like someone's going to talk. >> Yeah. You're just not thinking big. enough. I I agree with you. That's when it kind. of starts to get hinky for me. >> But he did disappear and sort I mean not. disappear disappear disappear, but he uh. >> I mean it's not like he was like all. right and now I'm going to go make all. the money on this. >> Right. Exactly. >> Like he moved and tried to start like a. regular business and tried to just not. be in the public eye. >> Yeah, he did. Which I think adds to his. credibility even more, you know, a. >> little bit. >> Uh let's take a our last break and then.

come back, shall we? >> Let's do it. But let's promise we're. going to come back. >> Okay. >> All right. [Music]. >> Josh. you should know. [Music].

Okay. Chuck. So Bob Lazar um comes along. just starts spouting out at the mouth. about all the crazy alien stuff that's. going on at Area 51 and then he kind of. like fades into the background for a. while and everybody else kind of took it. from there. If you have anything to do. with government conspiracies or believe. in UFOs or aliens or whatever, all that. stuff started to get saddled little by. little onto Area 51. And one of the. things um that pretty early on got.

connected to Area 51, but almost across. the board, any reasonable source or. skeptical source will say like the two. have nothing to do with one another is. Roswell and Area 51. >> Yeah. The the Roswell crash in 1947. >> Mhm. uh when something crashed, a. gentleman found pieces of an air well. pieces of some kind of unidentified. object and uh it became UFO central.

Later it was it was said to be a weather. balloon, >> but first the army said it was a flying. disc, >> right? >> Mhm. >> That kind of changed things. >> You've seen the pictures, right? >> Sure. I mean, it looks like um I've seen. that fa that one famous picture of the. guy crouching with what looks like just. some balloon material. >> Yeah, >> right. But, you know, he was just a. stoogge for the government and that was. just a prop that they came up with. So, the the Roswell crash happens in 1947. Um there's no way Are Area 51 would have.

been associated with it. The whole the. whole mythos around Roswell is that um. there was a UFO crash that happened. Some aliens survived or at the very. least their bodies were recovered. depending on who you ask. And the UFO. and the aliens alive or dead were taken. for further study to where Area 51, >> right? >> Area 51 back in 1947 when the Roswell. crash happened um was not even on the. CIA's radar. It was a that basically a.

defunct air strip and a um nuclear. testing range still. So there wouldn't. have been any place to take the aliens. in the first place. And then secondly, after the Roswell crash happened, um the. idea of the an alien um an alien crash. having taken place there, that didn't. come about until like the 80s, too. So. really people started to kind of catch. on to this a little late. So probably. Area 51 and Roswell have nothing to do. with one another. And let's not forget.

that they're like 800 miles apart, too. >> Yeah. even though to everyone in America. and really the rest of the world outside. of the Southwest thinks they're like. right next to each other. >> I think so, >> you know. >> Yeah. So, there have been a lot of crazy. theories over the years. Um the very. most basic um are like you just said. like there's alien corpses there, there's alien technology there. >> Uh and the US military has been studying. this stuff and trying to perfect. everything from time travel to lighteed.

travel. Right. >> That's that's the basic ground zero uh. approach. >> Don't forget interdimensional travel, too. >> Oh, why not? >> Um, another one I saw, there's some. pretty pretty lowhanging fruit that I. love. The moon landing was faked there. >> Uh, sure. >> And then after that, Right. But then. after that, Kubric was executed on site. and replaced by a clone. >> Well, that clone did some great work. >> He did. Um, better than Barry Lindon, right? >> Oh, I love Barry Lyndon. I've never seen.

it, so I can't really hate on it. >> It's amazing. >> Um, weather control experiments. That's. probably the most believable for me. >> Sure. Cloud seating. >> Sure. >> Why not? >> Why not? Um, and then there's like stage. two of of conspiracy theories. >> Yes. That is uh there are aliens that. clock in every day at Area 51. >> Mhm. >> And work side by side with us in. harmony. >> In harmony. in order to build like an.

alien human hybrid race maybe. >> Sure. >> Um, and if all this sounds familiar, I. will bet that you watched a pretty hefty. amount of XFiles. >> Oh, yes. >> Cuz they really tapped into this stuff. >> Um, they basically just appropriated it. for plot lines, right? >> Um, which is great. I love the XFiles, but it was just I I guess Chris Carter. used to hang out with like eupfologists. or something just to get ideas. >> probably. Did he really or? Yeah, he had.

to have. >> Yeah. Or he has one himself. I don't. know much about that. >> Maybe so. Maybe so. >> So, uh, and then of course, if you even. ramp that up a little bit more that the. that this is all a part of a giant. conspiracy to create a one world. government. >> that is human alien run, >> right? And that's where um that Majestic. 12 I mentioned at the beginning comes. in. They they are supposedly a panel of. academics, elite scientists. There's 12. of them who were impanled by Eisenhower.

after the Roswell crash. Um or I guess. it would have been Truman I think still. um who and they were put together just. the the cream of the crop to basically. go contact the aliens and basically. broker a meeting I guess between uh the. president and the aliens and they. managed to um leverage this to catapult. themselves into status of actual people. who run the world. Right? So they're the.

ones who are forming this this one world. government and that is where Area 51 or. that's where it's located. The seed of. this government is located underground. in Area 51. >> Yeah. This next one is um a little more. recent and very kooky. Um, and it's it's. the notion that Hitler and Stalin got. together and hatched a plan. >> Mhm. >> to uh undermine the United States in. World War II by distracting us about the.

threat of an impending alien invasion. >> And they would do this by building a. fake spaceship, filling it with mutant. children. >> that uh Joseph Mingala created, >> right? and um filled the spaceship with. those kids and then the the craft. crashed in a storm. >> and that was the Roswell incident, >> right? It was meant to land and then. these mutant children come out. >> speaking German, right? Supposedly the. mutant children who were the aliens that.

were found in the Roswell crash had huge. heads and giant eyes. They were. basically like the grays of alien. legend, >> right? Um, and that Stalin and Hitler. were inspired by the public's reaction. in America to the World War of the. Worlds broadcast. They wanted to incite. that kind of panic um by actually. creating this fake alien invasion. >> with all the drugs Hitler was on after. we know this now. Who knows? >> I'm sure he's like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's a great idea. That's a great. idea, man. Let's What else you got? What. else you got? What else can we do?". Stalin's like mellow. you tried CBD? >> He's like, "No, that's the one thing I. haven't tried." You got any? >> Right. I'll bet it'll mix well with. everything else. >> So, this is this is obviously not a. thing either. Well, this is from a book. by um an author named uh Annie Jacobson, I believe, and she this book came out in. 2011, and she based this whole thing on.

an alleged Area 51 insider, who was her. source, who said that he worked on a. project um that had to do with this. somehow, some way, but that this this. was where all this alien stuff came. from. It was a it was a hoax by the. Nazis and the Soviets. Yeah. >> Um, the weird thing is is there is. another guy out there who supposedly has. a different source who tells the same. story, but this other source um says.

that this is this it was all fake that I. saw the files myself, but I believe that. it was meant to be a test of loyalty, right? >> Or to see how I would react working at. Area 51 to files like this and be like, "Oh my god, this is real. This is real. I can't believe this is this is actually. real. Just I guess to see how gullible. you were and therefore how trustworthy. you were, >> right? Which could explain Bob Lazar's. situation, too, because he was. supposedly in a room full of files he.

probably shouldn't have seen either, >> right? So that that's. >> he probably failed the test. >> You got three different sources who. supposedly worked at Area 51. Technically, I should say because we'll. get email. Bob Lazar worked at S4, which. is an even more secret installation. that's attached to Area 51. >> Yeah. But you got three people who. allegedly worked in Area 51 who all tell. a story about basically being left in a. room with files that contained. information about aliens, whether it was. a hoax or real or whatever. And maybe.

that is because that kind of correlates. with the idea that there were like. gunpoint interrogations to verify your. allegiance to the government or the. military or whatever. Maybe that is. something they tried there. >> Yeah. It doesn't make the actual aliens. real. It just makes the presence of the. files real. >> That's true. >> Yeah. >> So, Area 51 today, uh, as it truly. exists, um, if you're driving down. Highway 375, there's an unmarked dirt. road between mile markers 29 and 30, or.

I guess 30 and 29. >> Mhm. >> And, uh, you turn on that road. It's 12. miles on a dirt road, and you'll get to. a gate, >> right? And there will be warning signs. all along saying restricted area, sort. of like close encounters type stuff. Um. there will there will be cameras and. sensors everywhere. So don't think. you're like getting away with anything. >> No, there's there's mics that listen to. your conversation like you are you are. under as close surveillance as you've. ever been in your life from what I. understand.

>> Yeah. And there are guards of course and. they will say I'm sorry, turn around and. drive back to the highway. And if you. persist a little bit um then you will. get arrested. Um if you're around the. perimeter area kind of walking around. with your binoculars, >> um they will probably come and take your. binoculars and tell you to leave or. drive you um back to the highway or. maybe smash your face in and bury you in. the desert. >> Well, there's a sign that says use of. deadly force force is authorized. >> Oh, I'm sure. >> Um but there there's from what I've.

seen, there's never been an incident. that that where that actually happened. You're much more likely to get handed. over to the local cops who will slap you. with a several hundred dollar fine. >> Sure. >> If you if you give them any kind of guff. and don't leave immediately when they. tell you to. >> So, kind of the cool thing about Area 51. >> there are um obviously that I mean there. are civilian workers that work there. It's a huge facility that apparently is. still growing. >> Um because you can look at satellite. photographs and uh year by year it seems.

to be getting bigger and bigger with. more buildings, >> right? >> Uh if you work there and um I mean they. have to have everything from food. services to uh custodial services to. plumbing and electricians and stuff like. that. >> And all of those people have the highest. possible security clearance an American. can have. >> Oh, sure. So they don't drive down that. dirt road and just go to the gate and. say, "How you doing, Rick?" And they go, "Come on in, Jane.".

>> Uh they go to McCarron Airport in Las. Vegas. >> and they all get on a big basically air. taxi. Um it's a 737 passenger jet. >> uh that fly, they call them the Janet. jets. It's under the call sign Janet. They're white, the big thick red stripe. You can look it up online. >> Yeah. >> And they uh that's how they get to work. every day. They fly everyone in on a 737. >> and you can see them on the tarmac. They. just. >> get in with the regular planes. It's. just look for the giant 737s that are.

white with the red stripe and. >> no logo, no nothing. They don't actually. have a name. Like you said, they fly. under call sign Janet. People have tried. to figure out forever what Janet means. >> There's an idea that it's just another. non-existent terminal stands for that. >> or joint air network for employee. transportation. >> Mhm. But if you go visit the NE Nevada. Aerospace Hall of Fame, they tell the. story that there was a commander of Area. 51 named Richard A. Samson from 1969 to.

71. And he chose his wife's name, Janet, to identify the commuter shuttles. >> That's sweet. >> And that's that's the most romantic. super secret government story of all. >> So, we uh kind of teased earlier on that. um the government is no longer saying. like, "Uh, I don't know what you're. talking about." like, "No, this. satellite image that we're all looking. at of buildings, I don't see anything. but dirt." Um, that's all changed a. little bit now. >> uh because of a lawsuit. Uh, in the mid1.

1990s, there were a group of uh workers. from Area 51 that sued the government. because of the it's a environmental. disaster there. uh or you know maybe. that's changing now but it had been for. many many years because of the fact that. it's a black project and so unregulated. and that they were just basically doing. everything like dumping hazardous waste. and burning it in trenches and people. were there just inhaling these fumes.

right. >> and getting really sick and a guy named. Robert Frost uh that worked there an. employee. >> um had a lot of really bad health. problems doctor said you were suffering. from some kind of a really bad chemical. reaction and in order to treat it, we. need to know what it is. And the. government said, "Sorry, we can't tell. you that." And he died. >> He died. And some other co-workers filed. this lawsuit. And one of them ended up. dying, too. And they finally got to like. a Nevada, I think, or a federal circuit.

court that said, "No, you guys don't. have a right to know what what you've. been exposed to.". >> Yeah. They weren't looking for money. They just wanted to know what was. killing them. And and the reason that. they had no legal right to know was and. this is that that trial that I was. referring to earlier where the. government representatives were saying. like we like the place that they're. talking about doesn't exist. Sorry. >> Right. >> So imagine like trying to just get past. that barrier, right? You're suing the. government to find out what they were. burning that made you sick, but the.

government's in court saying like the. place that they're talking about doesn't. even exist. That's like that's obstacle. one. >> Yeah. But the whole reason that they. were burning this stuff in the first. place is because um Area 51 operates. under what's called the Mosaic theory. And the Mosaic theory is that any little. piece of information a spy gets his or. her hands on could be fit together with. other information to to provide a larger. picture of what what's being done at. Area 51. And as a result, nothing can.

come out of Area 51. um. >> like the chemical that's killing the. people, >> right? Or computers that go in and are. used once they get decommissioned, they. get put in this pit and these trenches. and every two weeks they go out there. with jet fuel and everything that's been. put into the trenches over the last two. weeks gets doused with jet fuel and set. on fire with road flares. Amazing. And. whatever is in that smoke, the workers. get exposed to because for some reason. they built the trenches upwind of this.

um this installation rather than. downwind. And so people were exposed to. this every two weeks for years and years. and years. And things like, you know, um. anti-raar paint, um the jet fuel that. they were using as an accelerant, I'm. sure, wasn't helping, but just all sorts. of exotic materials that was super super. classified. The the this is what was. killing these people or making them. sick. Exactly. And the government said, "No, this is just too classified. These. people can't know. they're just gonna.

have to go off and die untreated because. we're not going to say publicly what. what they were exposed to. And that's. that's where it stood. >> that case. Uh they did finally finally. in that case say, "Okay, there's an Area. 51.". >> I know the whole courtroom went out for. beers that day afterward. >> So there's a thing there and that that's. really all we can say. Sorry. >> Mhm. >> Is there's a thing there. But that was. the very first sort of uh insight into.

the just that admission that there was. something there was the first time that. had ever happened which is in the mid. 1990s. >> Yeah. And um you were saying like people. would point to satellite images of the. place and you can see that it's growing. now like you can see it on like Google. maps. >> Yeah. That is really new because it. wasn't very long ago where all the. satellites in space were controlled by. the government and the government could. control what ended up in satellite. images. So they blocked out anything any.

image of Area 51. But as private firms. started launching their own satellites, it became basically impossible. So just. little by little, it's it's becoming to. the point now where they're like, "Yes, they acknowledge something's there. No, you can't know what's going on there.". Is basically the status quo now. pretty. much. >> So, that's Area 51. And sorry, we kind. of took the government tack here and, uh, didn't really go all in on the alien. theories, but I just don't think that's.

what it is. >> No. >> Uh, if you want to know more about Area. 51, um, I guess just start reading about. it. There's some pretty interesting. stuff out there. And since I said that, it's time for listener mail. >> Uh, this is about nicknames. This is. from Rob. >> Oh, yeah. I love this one. >> Hey guys, my name is Rob Bob. Rob and. Bob combined into a singular form. Uh. like Jim Bob but better. My mom has. explained to me that it started when I. was about 6 months old. Uh I was a.

really chunky kid, like in the 99th. percentile for weight. >> Uh they felt like no other nickname like. Robbie or Bobby fit. So they started. calling me Rob Bob. Um many years later. I meet my wife uh which is almost 8. years ago now and quickly found out that. her favorite writer is uh Richard Wright. since reading his novel Native Son has. wanted to name her kid Richard to honor. the impact he had on her life. >> She had visited his grave in Paris and. has every book he ever published. Um,

when she met me, I told her about my. super nicknames that I had wanted to. call my kid. Because, you see, my father. is William, Bill for short. But now, since we came up with these weird names, I call my dad Will Bill to bug him. This. leads me to why uh I have always wanted. to name my child Richard since high. school. Then we would, in order, have a. Will, a Rob bob, and a Rick Dick all in. three generations of awesomeness. My. wife does not approve. and thinks we.

should look elsewhere for name ideas. With great admiration, Rob Bob and. Rachel. >> Thanks, Rob Bob. Good luck with that. with your your quest. >> Yeah, I don't think Rick Dick is going. to fly in your household. >> I don't think so either. Rachel may may. have the cooler hat here. >> I think so. >> Uh well, if you want to get in touch. with us like Rob Bob did, we would love. that. You can go on to stuff you should. know.com. Check out our social links. there or you can send us an email to. stuffodcast.com.

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